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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 4:14 pm
by evolen
What do you think about the Bulldog Gen Test in England? Do you think we have to kill a Bull which carries the Bulldog gen?
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 6:21 pm
by Duncan MacIntyre
I personally see the test as being useful to decide whether those ones which are difficult to be certain of by eye are long or short genetically - every "short" will carry the bulldog gene. Some non-carriers are so short that it is difficult to tell by eye - bulls like Woodmagic Hedgehog 3rd and Shilton Pontius are only just over 40" in height. If you have obvious shorts they are pretty certain to be carriers.
With every shortlegged Dexter in Britain carrying the bulldog gene it does not make a lot of sense to kill every short legged bull unless there was an agreed plan to rid the breed of the bulldog gene. Keeping free of bulldogs is a lot easier - just be absolutely certain to use long bulls on short cows and vice versa. If breeders were not doing this and bulldogs were seen as a dreadful thing which could not be allowed then I would advocate a national scheme to keep only long legged bulls but allow short legged cows - that way we would still have plenty short legged cows for those who like them but no short bulls and no bulldogs.
Having produced 4 bulldogs from 3 females in 15 months a few years ago I decided to use the smallest long legged bull I could get which is why I have Shilton Pontius.
So my short answer is no. Even in Scotland we would not kill every short legged bull. (Yet) 
Duncan
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2004 10:26 am
by Sylvia
Surely if you banned short bulls you would still get a percentage of shorts from Long bulls x short cows, but would you ever get short calves from long X long matings? If not it would seem that shorts would be bred out of Dexters in not too long a time.
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2004 4:24 pm
by Duncan MacIntyre
Sylvia wrote:Surely if you banned short bulls you would still get a percentage of shorts from Long bulls x short cows, but would you ever get short calves from long X long matings? If not it would seem that shorts would be bred out of Dexters in not too long a time.
Yes, Sylvia, that was my proposal - to stop any bulldogs but allow those who wish to still have their short cows and heifers for showing. You would not get any shorts out of two longs, though it always surprises some people that you will get 25% longs out of two shorts. Those with short females would still get exactly the same number of short calves by using a long bull - they would however substitute an extra 25% long for 25% bulldogs if they had used a short bull on their short females.
Duncan